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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
WORK on the venue that hosted the Independence Trophy final between Highlanders and Dynamos on Tuesday, Pfura Stadium in Mt Darwin is progressing.
The country’s biggest football teams clashed at the facility housed at Mt Darwin High School in a first for Zimbabwean football, for a showdown of that magnitude to be staged at a rural ground.
The duel, which was won by Highlanders in a penalty lottery following a goalless draw in regulation time, spiced up the main Independence Day celebrations which were also held in a rural setting for the first time in 43 years. Tens of thousands people made their way to Mupfure Stadium and witnessed the historic battle unfolding with its usual intensity and tension.
Yet this could only be the start of bigger things as the facility is set to be developed into a 10 000-seater stadium compliant with FIFA standards.
Although the turf wasn’t yet lush-green by the time Dynamos and Highlanders played on Independence Day, all the modalities to make it one of the best pitches in the country have been put in place.
Mupfure Stadium project supervisor Chrispen Nyan’ombe from Pfura Rural District Council said the stadium will be upgraded into a modern facility capable of accommodating about 10 000 people.
“As Pfura Rural District Council, we are very happy for this opportunity to host the national commemorations of the Independence celebrations.
“We are also honoured to have the country’s two biggest football teams – Highlanders and Dynamos – play at Pfura Stadium.
“I am very happy that we managed, through the help of the Government, to construct a decent venue over a short period of time,” said Nyan’ombe.
“This piece of land that you are seeing here used to be a bush. We managed to improve it into what you are seeing right now.
“We have had a solar-powered borehole drilled here and we also have modern pumps to tap water from the adjacent Pfura Dam for the purposes of watering the ground and other uses. “So, the plan now is to construct terraces all-round which we will install with bucket seats. We are looking at having a 10 000-seater facility.
“Already, the changing rooms and the pitch dimensions are up to the required standards as we worked with ZIFA and some members of the ZIFA First Instance Board.
“Technically, we have an up-to-standard facility which we just have to erect terraces on to be able to host Premiership football and even CAF competitions.
“The drainage system around the stadium is also up to scratch and we have to push to do what is required for us to be able to host more high-profile matches”.
Nyan’ombe said the Pfura Rural District Council is also working on putting together a team that will buy a Division One franchise and push for Premiership promotion.
Mt Darwin used to have one team in the first division — Mt Darwin United — before the club folded due to liquidity challenges a few years ago.
“Obviously, we will be working on coming up with a team that will compete in the first division and then push to get a ticket into the top-flight. “We have already shown that we can be a powerhouse as a district if we can have a team which we call our own.
“We are planning to make sure that we can bring Premiership action to Mt Darwin. For now, while we don’t have a team, we can work on ensuring the facility for the team is there.
“We are also calling upon other Premiership teams to consider using our venue for their matches. If we are faster, I think we can even lure one of our teams from this province, Simba Bhora who are playing in the top-flight and hosting their matches in Harare.”
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